London Metropolitan Archives

LMA holds archives about the administrative, social and family history of London. Over 105km of shelving store records of schools, churches, hospitals, businesses, local government and much more.

Venue Type:

Library, Archive

Opening hours

Mon, 09.30 - 16.45Tues, Weds & Thurs, 09.30 - 19.30Friday, ClosedSaturday 9.30-16.45 on the following days in 2016 - January 9, February 13, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, December 10.

The History of London collection is a Designated Collection of national importance.

The collection is held at the Guildhall Library and the London Metropolitan Archives, and traces the history of the City of London and Greater London. The History of London collection is a unique, extensive and incredibly rich collection of material on the history of Britain’s capital city. The collections reveal the impact of London on social, cultural, economic and political developments in the rest of the country. The collection also reflects the central role of London in the globalisation of the economy and culture since the 18th century.

LMA holds the official records from the former counties of London and Middlesex. These include the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, and County Councils of London and Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. These organisations affected every part of public life, from health to housing to highways.

LMA has official records covering the much larger area of Greater London from 1965 to 1986. Information on the Greater London area can also be found with the London Borough local archive services.

Also included are 'London Generations' (from 1538) - this is the section of LMA devoted to bringing family history sources together for you to use. London Generations includes the records of over 800 Anglican parishes, many non-conformist churches and chapels, poor law records, school registers and electoral registers. You can search London Generations as a database on LMA's website.

For visual sources, we have extensive holdings of printed maps of London from the sixteenth century, thematic maps including bomb damage, plans and drawings in the Building Act case file series and other collections, and over 250,000 prints, watercolours, etchings and photographs showing the changing face of London over the last 300 years.

The above is only a brief sample of LMA's vast collections: for detailed information contact our enquiry team or speak to a member of staff in the public rooms.

Key artists and exhibits

Exhibition details are listed below, you may need to scroll down to see them all.

Exhibition (temporary)

London's Baking! Bakers, Cakes, Bread and Puddings from 1666

30 August 2016 — 1 February 2017 *on now

​Taking its inspiration from Thomas Farriner and his bakery, the starting place of the Great Fire, this exhibition tells the story of London’s bakers and their cakes, bread and puddings from 1666 to the twentieth century. Discover recipes (to take away and bake!) for almond cakes from 1700, suet puddings from 1850 and questionable school dinner chocolate sponge traybakes from the 1970s.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

Resources listed here may include websites, bookable tours and workshops, books, loan boxes and more. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all.

Face to face resources

Britain and the Wider World

A citizenship based session which explores our relationships with other countries and cultures and the history of those connections. It will also link to issues around business, economy and decision making.

How to obtain

Available on request. Contact LMA for more details.

Face to face resources

Expressions of Identity – creative writing events

Exploring personal and community identity through the stories of people from the past and the present.

How to obtain

Available on request. Contact LMA for more details.

Digital and online resources

SchoolMate

SchooLMAte is for children and teachers. Here they can work together as they explore the world of London's communities. You will be able to learn about people's lives, where they lived and how some of them came to London hundreds of years ago.

Digital and online resources

Theatrelands

The Theatreland website provides an overview of a century of theatre and tells the story of some of the playhouses with the most illustrious histories. Find out about the theatres that began as circuses and varied their dramatic fare with trapeze acts; the playhouse that survived two centuries and four fires to become a major draw for audiences today, and the group of theatres destroyed to make way for a major London thoroughfare. In the Image Gallery, you can look at prints and newspaper cuttings as well as the Theatreland plans and blueprints themselves, discovering the changes in theatre buildings and performances over the last few centuries.

School resources

On-line catalogue

Event listings

E-mail

Telephone

020 7332 3820

Fax

020 7833 9136

All information is drawn from or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.